Corbicular
pollen pellets are units of worker-collected pollen that can be harvested
before they are stored in a colony. They provide a common and simple way to
provide workers with proteins, and can be collected by outfitting colonies with
pollen traps, such as those attached to the hive entrance or those placed under
the brood box but above the original colony entrance, as described by Human et al. (2013) in the BEEBOOK paper on miscellaneous methods.
Similar to honey and bee bread, however, corbicular pollen can contain chemical
residues and pathogens (e.g.Higes et al. 2008; Mullin et al. 2010), and typically provides relatively fewer proteins than
bee bread, possibly because of its reduced digestibility or degradation during
storage (e.g.Hagedorn and Moeller, 1968; Herbert and Shimanuki, 1978; Dietz and
Stevenson, 1980; Cremonez et al.,
1998).

To make a 100 g paste containing 90%
(weight/weight) fresh corbicular pollen with water (Alaux et al. 2010), for example:

Add 90 g fresh corbicular pollen to suitable sized
glass beaker.

Add 10 g tap water to the beaker.

Knead using gloved fingers or a spatula until a thick
paste is created. Consistency should be similar to soft dough, and it should
not ooze.

Feed to caged workers, or wrap it in aluminum foil
within an air-tight container and store for a few days at -20°C until it is
needed.